58: Cell competition shapes depletion of aneuploid cells

Fusari E et al., Cell Genomics - Fusari et al. use FLP/FRT–based mosaic methods in Drosophila imaginal epithelia to generate defined segmental monosomies and trisomies and quantify their immediate effects on clonal growth, survival, and interclonal interactions. Key terms: aneuploidy, cell competition, Drosophila, segmental monosomy, trisomy.

Study Highlights:
Using RS- and TSG-FRT tools, the authors show that segmental monosomies of a few hundred genes commonly compromise clonal growth and present signs of outcompetition, whereas trisomies spanning up to ~1,500 genes often lack major autonomous growth defects. Haploinsufficiency of single loci (e.g., RpL26) or cumulative haploinsufficiency of discrete gene sets underlies many monosomy phenotypes. Complementary trisomic clones can exacerbate or rescue monosomy-driven loss, revealing distinct interaction modes including super-competition and lethal competition. The Xrp1–TOR–apoptosis axis and proteotoxic stress partially explain elimination of Rp-containing monosomies.

Conclusion:
Cell-to-cell interactions between complementary aneuploid clones, together with single-gene and cumulative haploinsufficiency, determine the in vivo depletion of aneuploid cells, highlighting cell competition as a key mechanism shaping aneuploid cell fate.

Music:
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Article title:
Depletion of aneuploid cells is shaped by cell-to-cell interactions

First author:
Fusari E

Journal:
Cell Genomics

DOI:
10.1016/j.xgen.2025.100894

Reference:
Fusari E, Muzzopappa M, Gracia J, Milán M. Depletion of aneuploid cells is shaped by cell-to-cell interactions. Cell Genomics. 2025;5:100894. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xgen.2025.100894

License:
This episode is based on an open-access article published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0) – https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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QC:
This episode was checked against the original article PDF and publication metadata for the episode release published on 2025-06-28.

QC Scope:
- article metadata and core scientific claims from the narration
- excludes analogies, intro/outro, and music
- transcript coverage: Audited the transcript sections describing the in vivo mosaic aneuploidy model in Drosophila imaginal discs, the Twin Spot Generator (TSG) and RS-FRT approaches, cell competition modalities (lethal, super-competition, compensatory proliferation), region-specific monosomy/trisomy findings (regions 1 and 2), and implicat
- transcript topics: In vivo mosaic aneuploidy in Drosophila imaginal discs; Twin Spot Generator (TSG) and RS-FRT recombination; Segmental monosomies and trisomies effects on growth; Cell competition: lethal competition, super-competition, compensatory proliferation; Region 1 (72A1–73A5) and flower gene–mediated competition; Region 2: compensatory proliferation and martyr signaling

QC Summary:
- factual score: 10/10
- metadata score: 10/10
- supported core claims: 6
- claims flagged for review: 0
- metadata checks passed: 4
- metadata issues found: 0

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